Costa Mesa Reviews

kport
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Re: Costa Mesa Reviews

Post by kport »

mrmikerocks wrote:
porschesrule wrote:A review from the examiner.com:

http://www.examiner.com/article/billy-e ... long-beach
ouch rough review
It reads as though the reviewer wanted to be somewhere else.

Perhaps the reviewer should have been!
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BEtourfan
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Re: Costa Mesa Reviews

Post by BEtourfan »

Here's a much more positive review from Broadway World (wish I had seen Kilty Reidy portraying Billy's Mum) :lol:
http://costamesa.broadwayworld.com/arti ... a-20130423
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jdmag44
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Re: Costa Mesa Reviews

Post by jdmag44 »

What a great review. He really appreciated the acting talent of the major players and the wonderfully impressive performance of Mr Tobin. I wonder if Mitchell got a kick out of being referred to as "Mr Tobin"
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porschesrule
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Re: Costa Mesa Reviews

Post by porschesrule »

A nice review from the Edge on the Net website:

http://www.edgeonthenet.com/index.php?id=143022
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1RadBilly
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Re: Costa Mesa Reviews

Post by 1RadBilly »

I was in LA for a photography show so I decided to head down to Costa Mesa to get a Billy fix while in southern cal! I saw each of the current Billy's for the first time two weeks ago when they were in Sacramento but i was only going to one show this weekend. I stopped by the theater this morning and was able to score a tenth row dead center seat for the evening performance. I was thrilled to see Drew's name on the board tonight when I walked into the theater. Drew rocks as Billy! I loved his performance in Sacto and he nailed it again tonight, this kid is awesome. Drew is a great dancer and you definitely pick up on this early in the show. Express yourself did not seem to get a very enthusiastic response from the crowd but this could be due to a more conservative Orange County crowd--not sure. Drew can jump rope at a pretty good clip during Born to Boogie and he even did a flip off the piano, not sure if that was even done during my previous Billython. I love Drew's Angry Dance although it almost seemed like he ran out of gas toward the end and again a somewhat subdued response from the audience but things were about to change in the second half. Dream Ballet was awesome and I loved Max and Drew's performance. I love the fact that Max gives these kids such a great spin before Billy is lifted up before the audience, I'd be sicker than a dog if that happened to me. Electricity was coming up and I couldn't wait because this is where Drew really hits it out of the park. I love his singing and facial expressions starting off and then he starts off the dance with that killer aerial--love hearing the gasps from the audience when he does that. I absolutely love his version of Electricity, it's absolutely top notch. All his dance moves are great and he finishes it off with such perfection. The audience responded wonderfully with a very long ovation which Drew naturally deserved. Great job by everyone tonight, the cast was awesome as usual. Way to go Drew,you are AWESOME!!!!

The one first for me tonight was at the beginning during the breakfast scene when Big Davey catches the toast when it pops out of the toaster, well tonight he missed it and it landed on the floor--I think I was the only one who laughed though.
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angelenroute
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Re: Costa Mesa Reviews

Post by angelenroute »

1RadBilly wrote:I was thrilled to see Drew's name on the board tonight when I walked into the theater. Drew rocks as Billy!
It's a sin that I only saw him once and will probably only see him one more time in Connecticut. He really is amazing!
1RadBilly wrote:The one first for me tonight was at the beginning during the breakfast scene when Big Davey catches the toast when it pops out of the toaster, well tonight he missed it and it landed on the floor--I think I was the only one who laughed though.
I always laugh when something goes wrong and so do the cast when they can. I'm sure they know the fans by our response to the flubs. Nothing like live theatre!!!
skkmercury
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Re: Costa Mesa Reviews

Post by skkmercury »

So sad to see the tour leave Orange County, and I’m especially disappointed I didn’t get to see all four of the current Billy’s during the two-week stay here. I did get to see four really terrific shows, one with Noah Parets, two with Drew Minard and one with Ben Cook. Reviews of the first two shows posted earlier in this tread, and my review of the latest show follows immediately below. I so wish I could have taken in more shows and seen Mitchel Tobin go on as Billy. There’s still a slight chance I’ll make it down to San Diego in the coming week and hopefully see “Mr. Tobin” there!

Anyway, Sunday afternoon in Costa Mesa was quite a show! I was very excited to see Ben’s name on the board to play Billy. I know that his reign will be over soon, and I’m so glad I got to see him do this role. I don’t know if he’s the oldest to ever play Billy, but he seemed to me to be the tallest and most mature. I’ve read so many great things about Ben that I knew I’d love his performance. However, after seeing him go on as Tall Boy (Thurs, 4/18), I had to wonder if he hasn’t already outgrown the role of Billy. He’s a big kid! So, I was a little skeptical about whether or not such a mature Billy could work. It does! Or at least Ben makes it work. He’s a brilliant Billy!

Ben’s voice is really, really great. He sings with the best of them. I was surprised at how youthful he can still make his voice sound, without losing quality. I wouldn’t say I was an expert or anything, but it sounded to me like there were only two small places where they made a key change for Ben. Only during the highest notes of The Letter and Deep Into The Ground did I notice a key change to lower notes. It worked beautifully. I thought Ben’s vocal in Electricity was one of the best I’ve ever heard, although I think he mixed up the words just a little bit. Only those who know the words by heart would have noticed because Ben didn’t show the slightest clue that anything may have gone awry.

Ben has so much personality and charisma on stage, and he’s such a terrific actor. His dance moves “to put Micheal off” during the boxing scene are hilarious. Those types of moves often get some laughter, but Ben’s had people rolling in the aisles. His reaction to Debbie’s proposition in the bathroom scene is also priceless. Very, very funny! At the other extreme, Ben’s acting during both Letter scenes is moving and genuine. I wasn’t close enough to see whether he shed actual tears, but he sure acted like tears were there when he’d wipe them away with his arm or hands. Ben does this so effectively (I’m reminded of Kylend Hetherington) that those actions alone pull at the heart strings.

And can Ben ever dance! Absolutely terrific! I think the sequence during the Dream Ballet was the most graceful I’d seen. I could easily see him as Older Billy someday. His aerial at the beginning of his dancing in Electricity was hands down the biggest I’d ever seen (er, actually it was hands free). Super tap dancer too! Loved him in Expressing Yourself (really made me wish I could have seen him as Michael before) and in Angry Dance.

I was very happy to see Ben to a flip off the piano at the end of B2B. That one thing makes a big difference, at least in my opinion, to the impact that’s left at the end of the number. And wow, I have to add that Ben’s jump roping is off the charts good!

Ben’s maturity level, or rather his size, seems to have caused a few adjustments to be made. When Mrs. Wilkinson is offering encouragement to Billy about his audition (the one he ends up missing) and she goes to button his jacket, she stands instead of kneels in front of Billy. During the “winter scene”, I don’t know if Ben forgot to bend down a little or if Jake who was playing Michael underestimated the height difference. Jake went to kiss Ben on the cheek and missed and then had to literally jump up to reach him. This totally cracked me up. Then, when Billy normally runs up and jumps up onto Dad during Once We Were Kings, Ben just runs up and gives a bear-hug. Still very effective though.

I can’t say enough about Ben’s performance. I loved it. I seem to have the same sentiment with every Billy I’ve seen!

Well, Billy is such a remarkable role that I’ve spent most of my time in awe of the actors who play him. If I had the time and I didn’t think people would get bored reading my long-winded posts, I could go on and on about all of the other actors who make BETM such an incredible show. I do, however, want to mention that the entire cast is amazing and that they all make this show extraordinarily special. They are one stellar Company. I wish everyone the very best during the remaining weeks of this tour and beyond.

Good luck Billy! You are very f*&^ng special. Now piss off before I start to cry!
;)
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angelenroute
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Re: Costa Mesa Reviews

Post by angelenroute »

Another great review, skk!

I feel so lucky to have witnessed Ben's Broadway Tall Boy and later his Michael and Billy on the Tour. He's a superstar, no two ways about it, and he's destined for GREATNESS in the years ahead. Yes, I know he's already reached it, but I predict big, big things for this young man!

Sean

"Good writers define reality; bad ones merely restate it." -Edward Albee
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StevenKing
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Re: Costa Mesa Reviews

Post by StevenKing »

I saw Ben the week before and just to add to Skk great review yea he does sing in a lower key but its well done. Ben did not jump off the piano when I saw him he only did a fast Pirouette(of which he does the longest unpumped ones I ever saw...no idea how he keeps up that unaided momentum.) When he did his moves in boxing id SWEAR he did the Gangnam style horsey dance! And that immediate aerial...wow. And hands down the fastest jump roping I ever saw(would put Thommie to shame...apologies to him :lol: ) though may I say the new Mr. B is VERY good. It was the last day for the BCEFA campaign so I got a polaroid taken with Ben and Mrs W...overall a great day!Pretty big crowd too with nice reactions minus usual 2 places for tour cities ive been too, NO reaction to Express, poor Jake got zip even with his prompting and its NOT his fault. Ive said this before and I'll say it forever, they ruined end of Express with new Dresses, they no longer look over the top funny the look awkward NOT funny weird. You get a WTH moment that's not at all. And as usual no clapping for wire rise, I've seen that clapped at at about 10% or less at every tour stop, I saw it at 100% of every London and broadway show...no idea why.
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BEtourfan
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Re: Costa Mesa Reviews

Post by BEtourfan »

skkmercury wrote:I was very happy to see Ben to a flip off the piano at the end of B2B. That one thing makes a big difference, at least in my opinion, to the impact that’s left at the end of the number. And wow, I have to add that Ben’s jump roping is off the charts good!
Ben also added a new move in the scene where Billy learns he's been accepted into the Royal Ballet School. After being tackled by Tony, Ben did a "kip-up" from the stage floor (http://www.instructables.com/id/Learn-B ... p5/Kip-up/). Don't believe I've ever seen that before.
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